


AU in which Gansey befriends Kavinsky and not Ronan

by ronanlunch



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-05 01:32:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4160556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronanlunch/pseuds/ronanlunch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>i wrote this with marita declanlunch genderqueerrosalind whateverherurlisnow</p>
            </blockquote>





	AU in which Gansey befriends Kavinsky and not Ronan

Joseph Kavinsky’s problem is Ronan Lynch. Even Gansey noticed, and Gansey isn’t famed for his perceptive skills, or his ability to understand and communicate in a functional manner. But that, that he knows about which means that Joseph was far too obvious. If even Gansey knows then Lynch, Lynch has to know, Lynch isn’t stupid, for all his failed classes and shitty marks. 

“Earth to Kavinsky,” Adam says and snaps his fingers in front of his face, making Joseph lean back and take his eyes away from Lynch’s back, and the muscles of his shoulders, and the dark of his tattoo slightly visible under his white shirt. “What?” he asks, annoyed. “Gansey needs you to bring him something,” Adam says. “Apparently it could be the key to finding Glendower.” “As were all the things that came before it, I’m sure,” Joseph says and Adam shrugs.

Adam takes Joseph to Gansey, sitting in the fire orange Camaro scribbling in his journal. “Daddy,” Joseph greets, “just because our families go way back doesn’t mean I’m a fucking booty call. I want something in return for these dream things I keep bringing you.” “Stop calling me Daddy,” Gansey retorts, not looking up from his journal, “what will people think?” Joseph leans into the open window, picking the pen from Gansey’s fingers. “They’ll think we’re fucking. What do you care?” Calmly, Gansey removes the pen from Joseph and places it and the journal on the passenger seat before glancing up at him. “We have never been intimate, Joseph. What we have is purely platonic.” “What-fucking-ever,” Joseph says, punching the roof of the car softly with his fist. “Why am I here?”

“I need a map,” Gansey says and Joseph rolls his eyes. “And I need a blow job, but I don’t see you falling on your knees, Dick,” Joseph said, ignoring the way Adam was rolling his eyes. “Is it a map of your imaginary lines again?” Gansey nods and Joseph shakes his head. “I’ve brought you the most accurate shit I could find already, do something for yourself,” he says but they both know that he’s going to do it anyway. “Borrow a helicopter, look around for yourself…”

“But why, when you can get it done lying down?” Gansey asks with a grin that has Joseph wonder how people ever think he’s a good person. He rolls his eyes and walks away from them, scanning the school grounds for Lynch.

He sees him sitting in a corner, mindlessly chewing on the leather around his wrist. Joseph settles down on a bench with a clear view, prepared to spend the rest of the break between classes staring at him but is once again interrupted by Adam. “You could just do it now,” he says, sitting down next to Joseph, “just get it for Gansey before English. I’ll keep watch while you’re sleeping.” Joseph had turned to him, annoyed, about to ask him why he couldn’t play messenger with someone else for the day, when he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that the other boy had looked over at them. He whipped his head around. “The fuck you want, Lynch?” he screamed, and was pleased with the response, an erect middle finger and a sarcastic lift of an eyebrow.

Joseph looks away before Lynch can see him smiling, and looks at Adam, waiting next to him with his arms crossed over his chest. “I wonder how you’d have grown if you had someone who cared enough to teach you to bite,” Joseph says and turns away from him again. Lynch has left. Joseph doesn’t like not knowing where that boy is for extended periods of time. Too dangerous. Too unpredictable. He gets up. “Tell Dick I’ll just dream it up when i get home,” he said and walked away. “Patience is a virtue.” He could hear Adam call him back but, as always, it was very easy to ignore Adam, and that’s exactly what he does.

He looks for Lynch’s shaved head in the crowd, spotting it as he exits slowly through the main door. Joseph catches up with him easily. “From what I’ve heard, you shouldn’t be skipping any more classes, Lynch.” There is a scoff and Lynch walks faster, replying over his shoulder. “Like I give a fuck. Don’t even wanna be here.” Joseph runs after, marvelling a little at those long legs in front of him. He offers Lynch a cigarette, and he accepts it without a word. “Didn’t know you smoked, Princess.”

“Didn’t know that you were so desperate for conversation, Kavinsky,” said Lynch and Joseph marvelled at the way the boy said his name, like it was something secret and dirty. “Fuck you,” Joseph said and was rewarded by Ronan stopping, Ronan turning, Ronan raising an eyebrow and grinning. “You kiss your boyfriend with that mouth, Kavinsky?” he asked with a laugh. Kavinsky smiled, all teeth. “Do other stuff too,” he said and then Ronan’s hand was in his tie and he was stepping back into the bathroom, locking the door behind Joseph with his free hand.

Lynch was famed at Aglionby for taking random boys into cupboards, but Joseph was sure it was a rumour. At least he had been sure, but what was happening right now might be proof otherwise. Lynch had him pressed up against the door, one hand square on his chest still gripping his tie while the other was shamelessly cupping him through his pants. Joseph’s breath hitched, and Lynch’s grin was vicious. “I have seen the way you look at me, Kavinsky. You’re practically drooling.” Joseph turned his head to the side, wondering if anyone had seen them enter together. Lynch must have noticed the pinch in his brow cause he laughed, breath hot against Joseph’s face, before saying “Don’t worry, your precious Gansey doesn’t need to know about this.” He let his tongue run over Joseph’s exposed neck, still palming him through his pants, and then Joseph snaked his hands over Lynch’s back, pulling him in to bring their bodies closer together, turning his head to allow their lips to meet.

Kissing Ronan Lynch was different than kissing other people. It was full of teeth and sharpness and Joseph is sure he banged his head against the wall at least twice, and it hurt, but Lynch was pressing his hand against his cock and when he put his hands on Joseph’s shoulders, Joseph fell on his knees without a second thought. “Fuck, K,” Lynch says when Joseph takes him in his mouth, hands pulling at his hair, pulling him forward and he feels high, he feels drugged, he feels like every part of his body touching Lynch is on fire.

When Lynch comes he chokes and starts to pull back but he holds him in place and Joseph swallows everything down before Lynch lets go of his hair and pulls back. “Good boy,” he says and zips up his trousers. “See you in Latin.” He’s out of the bathroom before Joseph has time to get up.

When Joseph leaves the bathroom, Adam is waiting outside. Of course he is. “I hope you’re aware of the reputation of Ronan Lynch?” he asks, and Joseph wipes his mouth, grinning in reply. “I hope you’re aware of mine.” Adam scoffs, disgusted, before he starts walking towards English. “Gansey needs everything before St. Mark’s on Saturday, so get the map to him by tonight.” Joseph directs his middle finger at his back as he walks away. Fucking sheep.

He’s buzzing with too much energy to sit in class, even with the promise of Lynch in Latin, so he finds where he parked his car and gets in before texting Prokopenko. time to hit the streets

If Joseph calls, Prokopenko will appear. That is one of the foundations Joseph has built his life on, one of the things that have never failed him so far. Proko and the pack are already gathered outside the school, slick cars and feral boys making Joseph feel right at home in a way that Gansey never managed to do, for all his efforts. He gets into his car and lets the roar of the engine bring him to life. This is it.

Latin is the one class Ronan makes sure he never misses. The others only serve to give Declan a headache, teachers calling him at odd hours, informing him about low attendance and failing grades. But Latin keeps Ronan interested. Latin has Adam Parrish.

Parrish waiting outside after Kavinsky’s blow job was not planned. He has wanted someone to see, ideally Declan - his asshole brother hated Kavinsky with a passion - but Parrish hadn’t even glanced at him again after his first disgusted glare, and it pissed Ronan off. He wanted to be so much more than an annoyance.

His phone buzzes for the tenth time in the last 15 minutes, and Ronan is sure the message is the same as the other nine, but he looks at it just to make sure. race me. Instead of ignoring this like the last, he thumbs a reply. is parrish coming to your party tonight. Kavinsky’s substance parties are famed, and tonight is a big one. The answer comes quickly. if you want him to. Ronan smiles. Yes, yes he does.

see you after latin, he texts and turns his attention back to Whelk, talking about gerunds. 

Gerunds. Sometimes Ronan thinks they spend all of their time talking about gerunds. He looks around the classroom, which means that he looks at Parrish, sitting two desks to the front, on the left aisle.

He’s not looking back, which is usually just what Ronan wants, but not today. Today Parrish basically caught him with Kavinsky in the bathroom, he should be curious, he should want to look at Ronan, at least half as bad as Ronan wants to be looking at him.

It takes quite a while, but he finally catches Parrish looking over his shoulder, and Ronan grins when their eyes meet. Parrish turns back quickly, but his ears are burning red so Ronan congratulates himself. When Whelk starts talking about working in pairs, Ronan leaves his spot and saunters over to the desk next to Parrish, leans against the wall, stares at him intently. The boy looks up at him, feigning disinterest. “I’m already working with someone.” Ronan laughs. “What, you have a friend besides Gansey? Must be imaginary.” Adam is quiet for a moment, so Ronan leans over and whispers to him. “I want you to tell my shit brother about what you saw today. Or pass it on to Gansey, I don’t care. Just make sure he knows.”

“Fuck off, Lynch,” Adam says and turns away, but Ronan sits on the chair next to him and grins. “Just do it, Parrish,” he says. “This is me asking nicely. I could change tactics.” “And I could ask for a different partner,” Adam says and lifts his hand to alert Whelk. Ronan reaches out and slams it back on the table, closing his fingers around Adam’s wrist. “I’m the best partner you could hope for, trailer park boy,” he answers and lets go. “Get to work.”

Parrish, to his credit, doesn’t make a scene, he just starts writing things down, never looking at him. He takes it as a win. You have to care about someone to put so much effort into ignoring them. Kavinsky’s party will be good.

It is near dark when Ronan’s BMW silently glides into the party, parking in the shadows. The air is filled with the sound of howling and crashing metal, the smell of gasoline, smoke, and blood saturating it heavily. Joseph watches from the hood of his car, girls in various states of undress surrounding him. Gansey might be king of the day, but after the sun has set, he is the master of Henrietta. It’s all part of their games.

Ronan enters the crowd, muscles coiled, already set for a fight, and Joseph wants to yell out a greeting, make him come over, but he knows there’s no point. Instead he shoves the girls away, jumping off the hood and walks towards him, arms out in greeting. “Lynch! Welcome to Wonderland!”

“Seems like a boring fucking party, K,” Ronan says, looking around. Joseph’s face falls but he catches himself and smiles, quickly. He takes out a pill and places it on his tongue. “Try this,” he says, and pulls Lynch closer.

The pill is bitter but Lynch is sweet, sweeter than you’d expect looking at him, sweeter than you’d expect by the way he kisses and he presses Joseph on the car with fingers deep enough in his hips that he’d feel the bruises for days. When he manages to swallow what was left of the pill Lynch pulls back and pinches Joseph’s cheek. “You’re getting better. That wasn’t nearly as terrible as last time,” he says. “Parrish here yet?”

Joseph doesn’t look up when he replies, using the loops on Lynch’s jeans to pull his hips flush against his own. “He’s not coming. Work or some shit like that.” Lynch is quiet for a moment before taking a hold of Joseph’s chin, forcing his head up. It hurts in the best way, and he smiles and licks his lip. “You said he would be here,” Lynch growls, his thumb pressing harder into the skin. Joseph might flinch a little but he doesn’t stop smiling, feeling his whole body pulsating with adrenaline and drugs. “He’s not mine to command, princess, you know that.” Lynch releases his grip on Joseph only to punch his fist into the car door, leaving a considerable dent. “Fuck, man,” Joseph says, pushing him away hard. “Be careful with the paint.” Lynch turns on his heels but before he can walk away, Joseph grips his shoulder. “What do you say we take a ride and see if we can find you Parrish. I’m sure we can convince him to have some fun.”

“You would leave your little Wonderland to go running after Parrish with me?” Lynch asks with a frown. “Just how desperate for a fuck are you, Kavinsky?” Joseph shakes his head and grins back. “You owe me from this morning, Lynch,” he says, leaning forward and tugging the lobe of Lynch’s ear softly with his teeth. “I’m not letting you go until I collect.” Lynch grins and in a second Kavinsky’s face is pressed against the hood of his car, his arm twisted behind his back. He thinks the pain is worth it, just for the feeling of Lynch’s body pressing him down like that. “I don’t owe you shit, Kavinsky,” Lynch hisses into his ear. “Now you can stay to your pathetic little part or you can come with me but if you act like a whiny little bitch again I am going to smash your face in the dashboard of your little car.” Joseph nods and Lynch pulls his head back by the hair. “Understood?” he asks. “You made your point,” Joseph says and Ronan lets go, taking a step back.

“We’re taking the BMW,” he says, pushing through the crowds and Joseph trails after. He is not surprised Lynch doesn’t want to leave the car here, with the vandals and white trash of Henrietta. From what he’s heard, it is the last thing he has after his father, he can’t even visit his childhood home due to some fucked up law. When he sinks down into the seats, the smell is intimate and Joseph feels something tugging inside him. The red numbers on the dash tells him it’s just past midnight. Still early.

Lynch doesn’t even look at him when he asks where they’re going. Where can they find Parrish.“Maybe he’s home,” Joseph says, and Lynch doesn’t even ask for directions, just starts the car without a word, and they’re gone.

He stops at the end of the asphalt like he’s been here a thousand times and Joseph hadn’t thought much of this fascination with Adam but now he thinks he should have, now it seems like something more. “Go get him,” Lynch says and leans back in the driver’s seat. “I don’t want to get any closer to that trailer.” “Afraid poverty’s catching?” he asks and Lynch glares at him from the corner of his eye. “Get the hell out and bring him here,” he says and Joseph rolls his eyes. “Not your bitch, Lynch,” he says and that gets a smile out of Lynch, even if it’s the one that hurts, the mocking one. “That’s a fucking lie K,” he says and leans across Kavinsky, draping his body over his lap to open the door. “Go.”

Before Joseph can get out he notices a shadow looking at them through the window, too big and broad shouldered to be Adam. Ronan glances up and freezes. “Fuck,” he mutters, then again. “Fuck.” He addresses Joseph without taking his eyes off the silhouette. “Do you know which window leads to Parrish’s bedroom?” “Why the fuck would I…” Joseph starts, but is interrupted. “Once you go round the back of the trailer, it’s the second one. Get him out.” Joseph frowns. “What?” Ronan still doesn’t turn to him, just takes a deep breath and opens the door to the driver’s side. However, before he gets out, his eyes meet Joseph’s. “Get. Him. Out. I’ll deal with this.”

He doesn’t ask how Ronan knows Adam’s window, it’s not like he’d get an answer anyway. But he does leave the car and keeps to the shadows, watching Adam’s father walk out and approach Lynch. Joseph moves to the back of the caravan and all he can see is Robert Parrish’s back, and the gleam of Lynch’s eyes in the dark. “Hello Bob,” Lynch says and he sounds friendly, likeable, nice. Joseph doesn’t believe it for a second. “I thought I told you never to step foot here again,” Robert Parrish shouts. “I don’t think you remember correctly,” Ronan says, walking close to him, careful as a wolf. “Let me refresh your memory.”

Joseph sees a small light go on in what Lynch said was Adam’s window. He walks there quickly and taps on the glass.

“Adam, it’s me,” he says and waits. Lynch’s voice is still heard from the front of the trailer. “You had just finished beating your son up,” Ronan says and he sounds high. Giddy. He sounds like he’s about to make someone cry. “I made you stop, you called me a fucking faggot and then I hit you so hard you were coughing up blood for a week.”

Adam’s face appears in the window, sleepy and confused, but there is still something alert in his eyes. “Joseph? What are you doing here? What’s going on?” “Fuck if I know, just get out here,” Joseph answers, pulling the window to widen the gap. “What…” Adam starts again, but then loud voices come from the front of the trailer, and Adam’s eyes widen. “Shit,” he says. It sounds like it’s getting heated, and although there haven’t been any punches yet, Joseph is sure it’s just a matter of time. “Get out here, I’m not gonna hang around and wait for this to get messy and Lynch told me to get you out.” Adam seems like he’s going to comply, but then he pulls back, face conflicted. “I can’t just leave them. I’ll go talk to them.” “Are you fucking stupid? Lynch can take care of himself, he’s a decent fighter. Get out here.” He always knew Adam could be a bit slow when it came to certain things but this is down-right idiotic. He considers climbing in the window to knock him out and drag him through the window himself, but decides it might be too much work. Fuck, he should just leave him. Determination is forming on Adam’s face, and Joseph notices his shoulders are tense, ready. “You don’t understand,” Adam says. “I just need to go, I’ll talk him down, it’s fine.” There is no time to reply. Both boys still as a gunshot is heard through the night and then, quiet. “Fuck,” Joseph swears under his breath. “Fuck. Does your asshole father have a gun?” The blood draining from Adam’s face is all the answer he needs. “I tried to tell you,” Adam says, sounding wrecked, and Kavinsky drags a hand over his face. “Fuck.” 

Ronan’s arm is bleeding but the adrenaline is rushing through him and he doesn’t pay attention to it. He holds Robert Parrish’s gun against his jaw instead, smiling.

“Why do you have to be such a dick, Bob?” Ronan asks, finger over the trigger. “I’m sure we could have been friends.”

Robert Parrish only has eyes for the gun, trying to pull away from Ronan’s grasp. His eyes flicker to something behind Ronan and Ronan freezes, waiting for it but not taking his eyes away from Parrish. “Everything’s settled, let’s go,” Kavinsky whispers in his ear and he feels himself relax. “I have to run now, Bob, it was nice talking to you,” he says and slams the gun against Parrish’s temple. He falls to the ground and Ronan turns his back on him, walking to the car. His sleeve is soaked through with blood and he feels a bit dizzy, but he holds on to the gun and walks on.

“Did the fucker shoot you?” Kavinsky asks when they get in the car, Kavinsky behind the wheel regardless of Ronan’s heated protests. “Just grazed me,” Ronan replies, leaning against the headrest, suddenly tired. “We should get you to a hospital,” Adam says weakly from the back seat. “And tell them what?” Kavinsky looks at him through the rear view mirror. “That your asshole father shot him? That Lynch here left him in the street after having knocked him out?” Ronan closes his eyes, focusses on their voices, focusses on breathing. “He’s lost a lot of blood, Joseph.” Kavinsky hesitates, taking a moment before replying. “We’ll deal with it,” he says finally. “We’ll find a way.”

Ronan feels dizzy. He feels high. he takes off his jacket and his shirt and grins, watching the blood run down his arm. “Tis but a flesh wound,” he says but he’s the only one in the car that laughs. “Where are we going?” Parrish asks and Ronan looks at him through the mirror, and looks at him, and looks at him. “Back to the party?” Kavinsky asks and Ronan laughs. “Wonderland,” he says with a smile. “This wouldn’t have happened if you’d just come, Parrish.” “Fuck you, Lynch, I didn’t ask for this,” Parrish answers. “I didn’t want to go to the fucking party.”

“God, shut up, Parrish,” Joseph hisses, annoyed at the boy’s lack of gratitude. “Don’t act like we didn’t do you a fucking favour, getting you out of there.” “A favour? Are you kidding me? I can’t go back there now, he’ll kill me. I’m homeless because of you two and your reckless stupid ideas.” Lynch turns in his seat, still grinning slightly, patting Adam’s head. “You can move in with me. You don’t even have to pay rent.” Adam pulls away, looking at Lynch with disgust. “Yeah, why don’t I switch one abuser with another. You’re no better than him.” The hurt on Lynch’s face is apparent as he sinks back in his seat, and he doesn’t even try to cover it. Joseph has never seen him this vulnerable, and it hurts.

Kavinsky turns back to Adam, needing to look away from Ronan, away from the hurt and the pain in his face.

“Gansey would have you happily,” he says. “And he can’t hurt a fly. At least not with his fists.”

Adam looks out of the window, frowning and Lynch leans his head on the dashboard, hissing. Joseph looks at him and sees only red. He stops the car at the side of the road and gets out, rushing to the passenger’s side.

“Adam do you know any fucking thing about bullet wounds?” he asks and pulls Lynch’s shirt off with a frown. It worries him more that Lynch doesn’t say a thing, doesn’t try to stop him.

Adam doesn’t move from the back seat, just looks at them. “He needs a hospital. He’s lost too much blood for his body to deal, that’s why he’s unconscious.” Joseph tries to push Ronan back into his seat, but his upper body keeps falling forward. “How the fuck do you know?” Adam half-smiles. “I’ve done my research. Put him in the back, I’ll keep pressure on the wound. You better hurry.” Joseph swears under his breath, but pulls the heavy body from the seat and drags him to the back. It takes longer than he’d like. “At least try to fucking help,” he bites at Adam, who doesn’t even lift a finger to get Lynch into the back seat. “He’s not my problem. If you had left me alone in the first place, he wouldn’t be bleeding out.” But he leans over and presses Lynch’s blood soaked shirt to the wound when Joseph has finally managed to get him into the car again, lying on Parrish’s lap. Joseph slams the door and they’re back on the road in an instant, Joseph praising whoever’s listening for his years of racing experience.

"If it were me, we wouldn’t have come,” Joseph says. “Lynch has a thing for you.” “How lucky I am,” Adam says, rolling his eyes. Joseph doesn’t speak, keeping his eyes on the road. “You think I am?” Adam asks. “You actually do?” He just presses down on the gas, the car accelerating until they are outside the hospital, and then Adam is pulling Lynch out of the car and Joseph is helping him take him up the stairs into the white, bright corridors.

As predicted, the nurses ask a lot of questions. Adam calls Gansey the minute they get help for Lynch, of course he does, and Gansey gets everything under control in his usual, sickening way, taking Adam with him as he leaves. The last thing he did was send Joseph a disappointed look. He sits next to the hospital bed, feeling tired and drained, until Lynch’s brothers show up. The oldest yells at him until the nurses call the guards, who show Joseph out. Apparently, being family is the only thing that matters, even if they couldn’t give two shits about him the day before. He takes the BMW to Monmouth, trying to ignore the blood as he drives, and when he gets there he goes straight to bed, ignoring Gansey’s questions. The doctors said it was critical. The doctors said Lynch might not last the night. The doctors asked what drugs Lynch had taken, and Joseph couldn’t answer, cause the drugs were dream drugs, the drugs were figments of his imagination come to life, and nothing he could say would make any difference. So he didn’t say anything, just watched the machines and matched his breathing to the beeps.

His eyes close when his head hits the pillows and he is in the emptiness, alone in the dark. He can ask for anything in the world, search for it among trees and ruins and steal it, under the cover of darkness, the world his to command for good. He asks for Lynch. Every night he asks for Lynch.

Tonight his wish is granted and he’s here, next to a pool in the dark, whispering to something that Joseph can’t see. His face is pale, and there’s dried blood on his arm, where the bullet hit him. Joseph would pride himself for the ingenuity of his creations if it wasn’t for the jeans, worn thin and unlike everything Joseph has ever seen Lynch wearing. In fact, Lynch usually forgoes pants altogether in Joseph’s dreams. Lynch looks up at him and frowns. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asks.

Joseph walks over to him, touching his finger to where the wound should be but under the blood the skin is healed. Lynch just looks at him as he lets his finger trail up the arm, over the shoulder, ending up on the sternum, where he places his palm flat against the skin. “You’re real,” he says. “Does this mean you’re dead?” “What the hell are you doing here?” Lynch repeats.

“I was looking for you, actually,” he says and grins. “But not as real as I’ve found you.” “You’re not making any sense,” Lynch says and shakes his head. “Why am I dreaming of you? I never dream of you.” “Now come on, Lynch, don’t go breaking my heart,” Joseph says. “Let’s have some fun and then wake you up. You’re in the hospital, remember?” Lynch nods his head. “Adam’s father,” he says. 

He looks back at the dark pool. “Let’s not think about that now,” Joseph suggests, letting his hand trail down Lynch’s stomach, slipping his fingers into the faded jeans. “I have a much better suggestion for what we can do.” Before he can do anything further however, Lynch takes a hold of Joseph’s wrist, keeping him still. “What are you doing?” He looks at him. “Remember, I owe you.” He releases Joseph and pulls him in for a kiss.

Joseph wakes up to Gansey’s voice as soon as Lynch’s lips touch his own. He pulls his pillow over his face and groans, loudly. “Get out of my room, Dick,” he says and throws the pillow at him. Gansey looks at it like he cannot believe that happened. Joseph is, as always, surprised, that people throwing things at him in frustration isn’t an everyday feature of Gansey’s life.

“We need to talk about what happened yesterday,” Gansey says, sitting on Joseph’s bed as if he has every right to be there. Joseph hates him a little, the cock-blocking bastard. “Declan Lynch keeps calling me and I have no idea what to tell him. Did you shoot his brother?”

“What?” Joseph asks sitting up. “Is that what Declan thinks?”

“It’s not really a stretch is it?” Gansey answers. “You leave your party early with him, you resurface later with him bleeding out in the back of his own car.”

“I didn’t shoot anyone Gansey, I don’t even have a gun,” Joseph says, and Gansey raises his eyebrows. 

“You could have one easily if you wanted,” he says. “But I believe you. I don’t know what you see in Lynch but a bullet through his arm seems counter productive to wooing him.”

Joseph sinks down back into bed. “Wonderful. Convince this Declan character I didn’t shoot Lynch, and to let me back into the hospital.” Gansey frowns, shaking his head. “I’m not doing that until you tell me what’s really going on. Adam seems pretty upset but won’t tell me anything. He’s saying I should ask you?” Joseph laughs, harshly. “Yeah, about that. You should probably offer him a room, apparently he’s homeless.” Gansey shakes his head, ever disappointed, and Joseph tells him about the night. 

Ronan wakes up to lights, and pain, and Declan. The hours pass at a blur until he’s released into his brother’s care, his arm nothing but a constant ache, his head pounding from the drugs and the exhaustion.

There has never been a worse time to face Declan.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Declan yells as soon as the doors of his car are closed behind them, and the hospital staff cannot hear him.

Ronan shakes his head.

“Fuck off Declan,” he says rubbing his temples. He feels like there’s something he has forgotten, something important. 

Something is scratching the roof of the car.

He focuses on that to avoid listening to his brother.

There is something he has to remember, something that came to him in a dream…

Declan is talking about responsibility, he’s talking about money, he’s talking about their father. Ronan has heard it all before, anyway. His brother only has the one speech for everything Ronan does, from kissing boys and racing Kavinsky to getting shot.

Kavinsky. 

Kavinsky who was awake and real in Ronan’s dreams. Kavinsky who knew that Ronan was real as well. Kavinsky who would have answers.

The scratching gets worse and even Declan stops talking, looking worriedly at the roof of the car. 

Ronan opens the window and he scratching stops, and he finds himself with a handful of feathers as a tiny bird, too small to make such noise falls through the window to his lap. 

Ronan looks at it and smiles. 

His phone’s screen lights up, Ronan Lynch’s name appearing on it and Joseph turns away from Gansey to read the text. 

i took a bird out of my dreams, the text says, and the impossibility of it makes Joseph smile.

i’m coming over, he texts back and leaves before Gansey has time to stop him.

It was always meant to be the two of them anyway


End file.
